Muscrove Apartments
by wintervixen86
Summary: Caught up in her career, Amber doesn’t think much about that vacant apartment next to hers. Until it’s resident returns….. A McFlyOFC romance. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Muscrove Apartments

**Author: **Jodie

**Rating: **M

**Summary: **Caught up in her career, Amber doesn't think much about that vacant apartment next to hers. Until it's resident returns…

**Ship: **Danny/OFC

**Authors Note: **Not my best piece of work, but I wrote it to feed an addiction rather than make a literacy masterpiece. The story was originally going to be about Tom, but I changed my mind at the last minute and thought what the heck, Danny will be fun.

**Disclaimer: **This is a work of fiction. Don't be upset if I portray Danny in a way that you don't like. I don't know anything about the guy. This comes from the deepest darkest corners of my imagination.

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**Chapter One**

I fell in love with Muscrove Apartments the moment I stepped over the threshold. At the time I had just turned 22 and was fresh out of Australia just about to start my new job in Public Relations. Hence, I decided I needed somewhere quiet and relaxed, and Muscrove Apartments proved to be just the place I was looking for.

Structurally the building was shaped a bit like a U. All the rooms face inwards and all have a balcony that overlooks the garden in the centre. Room 301 was small yet cosy and consisted of only two rooms, a bathroom and a joint bedroom, kitchen and living area. But its large windows reminded me of Australia and my next-door neighbour seemed nice, so I moved in right away.

Never did I expect one apartment could bring me so much love and excitement.

"Good morning, Amber."

I looked up from my organizer and smiled at my landlord Lewis as I strolled into the foyer, "good morning Lewis, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm having a bit of trouble with my knees, but I cant complain." Lewis replied from his position behind the reception desk, "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Not too bad," I replied stepping up to the counter and resting my elbows on the hard marble, "another Monday morning."

Lewis smiled, "I'll give you a piece of advice lassie, work hard, save your money and retire early."

I grinned. Lewis gave me this same piece of advice every morning. Well into his 60s and still not retired he was patiently bidding his time until he could retire with a comfortable amount of money in his pocket. "I will," I assured him, "have a good day."

"You too lass. Taxi should be here soon."

"Thank you."

I waved him goodbye and strolled out of the building onto the streets of London. Stopping at the curb I fished through my bag for a piece of gum and patiently waited for my taxi. My work was only a walking distance away, but I was running a bit late this morning considering I spent most of last night awake at my computer working on some campaigns for this mornings meeting.

Working in Public Relations is brilliant and all I have ever dreamed, but it is certainly a lot of work. Especially since I am keen for a promotion by the end of the year.

As I was waiting I let my eyes slowly drift along my street. It was pretty much deserted as usual, occupied only by the sporadic person who would smile and wave on their way to work. Within the space of five or so minutes a taxi pulled up in front of me and I was just about to open the door and get in when I was distracted by a blue mini cooper pulling up across the road.

I watched curiously one hand still on the door handle as a young man jumped out of the car. He looked to be in his early twenties, although it was difficult to tell considering he had a gray beanie pulled down low on his forehead. I don't know why he had caught my attention, but I couldn't look away as he pulled a large suitcase, and guitar case out of the boot of the car before slamming it shut and making his way across the road towards me.

"Miss?"

I dragged my attention away from the young man and looked at the taxi driver, "oh sorry," I murmured opening the car and sliding inside, "I was a bit distracted."

"Where to?"

"Um," I watched the young man walk up onto the pavement and begin searching through his pockets. He was quite tall, and rather slender, a few locks of brown hair were peaking out from underneath his beanie.

"Miss?"

"Oh sorry, to Moorhead Drive thanks."

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I was in a crappy mood by the time I got home from work that afternoon. I managed to make it up to my apartment, pull on some pajamas and consume a Tim Tam before I fell into a exhausted sleep before it even hit 7pm. Funny how lack of sleep catches up on you from time to time. I was awake again by 3am and was just groaning to myself about how tired I would be at work when a sound made me pause.

It sounded like… a guitar?

Nonsense, I'd been living here for six months and I was pretty sure none of the elderly residents could play guitar. I shrugged, ignored it, and jumped into the shower instead.

Emerging into a steam filled bathroom I took the time to cleanse my skin and nearly drown myself in moisturizer before pulling on my jeans and jumper. I was just booting up my computer when I heard it again. That steady strum of the guitar.

Curiosity got the better of me and I opened the sliding door and stepped out onto my balcony. The cool early morning temperatures hit me immediately and I crossed my arms across my chest. I didn't think much more about the cold weather though, once I realized the balcony to my right was occupied.

Room 302 had always been a bit of a mystery to me. I had never met the person who lived there but from gossip around Muscrove Apartments I gathered it was a young man who travelled a lot. Mrs. Blair told me over tea one afternoon that he was pleasant and very much liked her chocolate chip cookies. But other than that Mr. 302 had always been quite the mystery.

A mystery no longer, Mr. 302 was right there in the flesh, playing the guitar. And playing it rather well if I do say so myself.

"Hi," I greeted him.

He paused playing and looked at me with a polite smile, "hey, sorry did wake you?"

I stared at him, I knew that voice, and I knew that face. I just didn't know where I knew them.

"No," I replied with a wave of my hand, "I've just got some crazy sleeping habits at the moment. I'm Amber, by the way. And you must be the infamous, Mr. Room 302."

"Mr. Room 302?" he repeated with a smile placing his guitar aside and standing up.

I shrugged, "I don't think anyone in this building has ever met you before."

"Well that's not true," he replied walking over to the far end of his balcony and leaning against it, "you have. I'm Danny."

"Danny," I repeated, leaning across and shaking his offered hand. Our balconies were only a few feet apart, "you look familiar, and I cant place where I've seen you."

He chuckled, "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"You're not going to tell me?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

He shook his head, "what would be the fun in that?"

"It's going to drive me insane," I replied with a grimace, "well welcome back anyways."

"Thank you." Danny replied politely, "So I'm assuming you moved in recently? I like your accent, Australian?"

"Yeah, I moved here about six months ago."

"Six quiet peaceful months," Danny smirked, "I'll try to keep my noise down."

"If your referring to your guitar," I replied gesturing towards it, "then don't, I love the sound of the guitar."

"Really? Do you want me to play you something? It might jog your memory as to where you know me from?"

I shrugged, "sure."

I leant my elbows on my balcony and watched as Danny picked up his guitar and began strumming out a tune. After a few moments there was no mistaking it. How many times had I heard this song on the radio a few years ago? "Five Colours in Her Hair," possibly my favourite song back when I was a teenager.

I rolled my eyes. How in the world did I not recognize bloody Danny Jones? With his beanie off that hair was unmistakable. He wouldn't be home much because he was touring all the time. I felt like smacking myself in the forehead.

"Oh," I drawled, "you'd think I would have recognized you straight away since I've been living here for six months. McFly are huge here."

Danny laughed, "ten points to you."

I'm living next door to Danny Jones… what are the chances?

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To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Over the next few weeks, I rarely saw Mr. Danny Jones except for those sporadic times when we'd meet up in the laundry room, or make small talk on our respective balconies. But despite the fact I only saw him half a dozen times, it was amazing how much I learnt about my next-door neighbor. They should really make apartment walls thicker.

One of the first things I noticed was that he was ridiculously nocturnal. Ninety percent of the time he wouldn't head to bed until three in the morning, and I don't think I ever heard a peep from his room until midday when he tended to crash around his kitchen like an elephant on a rampage.

He played his guitar and sang a lot. And they were always songs I had never heard before which I decided probably meant he was writing songs for McFly's new album. Most the time he played on his acoustic guitar but a few times I nearly jumped out of my skin with fright when he started playing his electric guitar at ridiculously loud levels.

He took the longest showers in history (stole all the hot water) and tended to go out every Friday and Saturday night (coming home blind drunk). He was a terrible cook (if the burning smell had anything to do with it) and politely accepted Mrs. Blair's cookies (which she baked for him every three days).

As far as next-door neighbors go, he was all right. We built up a tentative friendship.

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It was early Sunday morning, several weeks after the reappearance of Mr. Room 302, and I found myself participating in a bit of a Muscrove Apartment tradition. I don't know who started it, but for the past few months around 10am on a Sunday, every resident would sit on his or her balcony for a bit of "resident bonding." It was a time where I usually spent most of the time in a yelling conversation with Mrs. Blair (who lived in the apartment directly opposite my own) or admiring Mrs. Thomas's most recent knitting work.

That morning however, I found myself drinking my weight in orange juice and carefully painting my fingernails black as I listened to several residents shouting at each other. It was very noisy and I was feeling vaguely sorry for Danny who had returned home just before sunrise and was most likely trying to sleep through this racket.

That is until he emerged on his balcony. I think all the old ladies nearly had a heart attack at the sight of him stumbling out in his red boxer shorts and not much else. I watched as he rubbed his hand over his face and looked around at everyone in utter confusion.

"What in the world?" he murmured.

I smirked at him, "good morning sunshine. Late night?"

Danny looked at me and ran a hand through his messy hair "is there a social call going on that I missed an invitation to?" he questioned walking towards me and leaning against the railing.

I shook my head, "just a regular Sunday. I can't believe you managed to sleep through it the past few weeks."

Danny looked around, "neither can I." He groaned and shielded his eyes against the glare. "This is karma isn't it, for all my late night playing? I haven't been that loud have I?"

_Yes_, I thought inwardly. Outwardly I shook my head, "I haven't heard a thing."

Danny let out a deep breath, "do you know any hang over cures?"

"Sleep?" I suggested innocently.

Danny glared at me.

I laughed, "Well other than sleep, greasy food is always good. I was going to go get some take away if you wanted to come."

Well, I wasn't really planning that at all, but now that I thought about it, hot chips sounded brilliant.

Danny pondered it before nodding, "yeah that sounds good, give me five minutes to get some clothes."

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True to his word, five minutes later we were out on the streets of London walking towards the local shops to find the greasiest food imaginable.

As we walked, I surveyed Danny's clothes before asking, "do you get recognized a lot?"

Danny shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets, "from time to time."

"Does the beanie and sunglasses actually help things?" I asked curiously.

Danny grinned, "not really. But I feel like a rock star when I wear them."

I chuckled, "by the way all the stuff you've been playing and writing sounds pretty good."

Danny looked at me in confusion, "I thought you said I wasn't noisy."

"Your not," I replied stopping at a crossing and grabbing Danny's arm to stop him as well, "but I can still hear you through those thin walls between us."

Danny shrugged, "Well I guess that's ok because I can hear you too."

I blinked and stared at him, "you can?"

I don't know why it never occurred to me. Clearly if I could hear him, he could hear me too.

"Yeah, you sing ridiculously loud in the shower," Danny replied.

My mouth dropped open in horror, "I do not."

Danny laughed, "Yeah you do. You did a really good version of Five Colors in Her Hair the other day too. I was impressed."

I shoved him playfully and blushed, "shut up."

Danny laughed and grabbed my arm to get me walking when the little man turned green, "you have a lot of bizarre little habits actually. And you never told me you played guitar."

_You call that playing? _I thought inwardly, "It never came up."

"When did you start?"

"A few years ago now, I went out and bought it on a whim one day. Decided to teach myself how to play."

"Do you write your own stuff?"

"Sometimes," I replied carefully.

"Would you ever play it for me? Or is it personal?" Danny questioned curiously as we stepped off the pavement into the shopping center.

I wrinkled my nose, "its not that its personal its just that its not very good."

"It sounded alright to me," Danny replied maneuvering his way through the thick crowd to the food court. I stuck close behind him. Danny seemed to have a natural tendency to clear a walkway. Without even knowing who he was, everyone just stepped out of his way.

"How about we make a deal," he suggested, looking over his shoulder at me, "I'll play you some off the stuff I've been writing and you can play me some of yours. Deal?"

"Yeah ok," I agreed reluctantly, "but you have to promise not to laugh."

"Amber if you get rid of my hangover I will promise you anything," Danny replied. "Oh thank god," he blurted when we reached the mouth of the food court. He opened his arms wide as though embracing it before grabbing my wrist and practically dragging me to Burger King.

Another thing to add to my list of "Things I Know About Danny Jones" is that he likes to eat. A lot. I watched in bewildered fascination as he munched on a large meal, inwardly cursing his fast metabolism and wondering why I wasn't blessed with the same luxury.

As he ate I also marveled at how chatty he was. Even though he was hung over like a bitch he still managed to keep conversation flowing and comfortable. He was interesting to talk to. Conversation with Danny was kind of like running a marathon and trying to keep up with the runner in front of you. He tended to bring up different subjects at random and go off on a tangent all of his own until I couldn't remember what we were originally talking about. But he was very articulate, and expressed himself well.

"Right," Danny said screwing up all his rubbish with a flourish, "I have to admit that I feel much better. What should I promise you?"

I tore my attention away from a bunch of thirteen year old boys with straws up their noses, "what?"

"Well I said if you could get rid of my hangover I'd promise you anything. So…" he prompted me.

I laughed, "anything?"

He shrugged, "anything."

"Well…" I murmured slowly an idea forming in my mind, 'if your not busy next weekend, I have a work party and would love a date."

Danny pointed at me, "done."

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"So what's this party for again?"

I glanced at Danny who was reflected in the mirror I was applying my make up in. He had strolled into my apartment ten minutes prior fully dressed and ready to go, settled onto my bed and hadn't moved since. I nearly had a heart attack when I walked out of my bathroom-dripping wet with only a towel wrapped round me to find him there. While I gaped at him like a goldfish he'd just raised an eyebrow and said something about how I should lock my doors. Bastard.

"Every once and a while someone at the office will decide we've all been working to hard," I replied as I smoothed foundation into my skin, "hence we all get together at some over priced club and get absolutely slaughtered."

"So should I organize for some take away to be delivered tomorrow?" Danny questioned, picking up my stuffed bunny I'd had since birth and examining it curiously.

I shook my head, "last time we had one of these parties I couldn't eat for days. I was so hung over. It was ridiculous."

"I see," Danny murmured before holding my bunny out towards me, "whose this?"

'That, is Long Legged Bunny," I answered.

"Long Legged Bunny?" Danny repeated, "What kind of a name is that?"

"Hey shut up, you'll hurt his feelings," I accused him not bothering to look away from my reflection, "Long Legged Bunny is awesome. He dances."

"Does he?" Danny held him up and jiggled him around a bit so his long limbs moved, "hey he does to."

I shook my head in amusement; "Danny is there any reason you are here in my room and dressed ready to go so incredibly early?"

Danny shrugged and set my bunny aside, "I was bored."

"Well give me half an hour then we can go get some food or something before we leave. Sound good?"

"Sounds fantastic. I don't know why I didn't think of it myself," Danny replied shedding his jacket and settling back against my pillows.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"Amber, correct me if I'm wrong, but are you here with that guy from McFly?"

The club was pumping and I found myself taking a break from the dance floor with my good friend and co-worker Lana Becks. After finding a secluded booth we ordered some drinks and settled down for a girly chat.

I smirked at her over my drink, "Its not a date or anything," I assured her, "he lives next door to me. I dragged him along."

Lana raised an eyebrow and looked over my shoulder at Danny who was standing at the bar surrounded by my co-workers, "doesn't look like you dragged him along to me."

I started to turn in my chair when Lana interrupted me.

"No don't look," she hissed, "he's looking this way."

I froze, "is he? What's he doing?"

Lana looked over my shoulder, "oh god he's speaking to the Gremlin." (For those of you playing at home, the Gremlin is my boss.)

My mouth dropped open in horror, "oh god, I bet he's saying something about how I sing in the shower!"

Lana looked at me strangely, "you do?"

"It's a perfectly normal act," I defended myself.

"Oh wait he's coming over," Lana commentated. She paused, "oh I hope those drinks are for us. They look fancy."

I was just opening my mouth to respond when a tray of drinks was placed down beside me. "Hey ladies," Danny greeted us, "how are we?"

"Feeling fantastic," I answered for both of us as I slid over in the booth to make room for him.

Lana took the cocktail with a thank you and peered at it curiously, "what's in this?"

"I don't really know," Danny, replied taking a swig of his beer, "I told the bar tender I wanted something to impress the ladies and he gave me those."

I stuck the yellow umbrella behind my ear, "you could have given me this little umbrella and I would have been impressed."

"Or these little sticks," Lana added pulling the swizzle stick out of her drink and looking at it curiously.

"Speaking of impressed," I shot in randomly pointing my swizzle stick at Lana, "when am I going to meet this man of yours?"

"He's here tonight actually," Lana confessed.

"Is he?" I spun around in my seat and scanned the club, "where?"

Lana waved her hand, "oh somewhere. Hang on I'll call him."

As Lana made to call I turned to Danny and filled him in, "Lana's been dating this guy for a few weeks and we're all really keen to meet him because she gushes so much."

Danny rested his arm on the back of the chair behind me, "do you gush about me?"

"Actually," I replied slowly, "I don't think I've ever mentioned you until tonight. Sorry."

Danny clutched his heart, "You've hurt my feelings."

I shoved him playfully, "shut up. Why? Do you gush about me?"

"I don't know about gush," Danny replied, "but I was telling my mum that you sing McFly songs in the shower."

I rolled my eyes, "you're never ever going to let me live that down are you?"

Danny considered it, "probably not anytime soon, no."

"Hey guys, this is Eric."

I turned my attention away from Danny and towards the infamous Eric. On a scale of one to ten I'd probably give him in eight. He was tall and Swedish looking, with his light skin, blond hair and blue eyes.

"Eric this is Amber and Danny," Lana introduced us.

"How ya doing?" I smiled reaching out and shaking his hand.

"I'm great thanks, how are you?" Eric replied in a thick British accent.

"I'm good," I answered watching as Danny and Eric shared a masculine handshake before he slid into the booth to join us.

"So," he began slapping his hands together, "how do we feel about a drinking game?"

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So there I was around one in the morning at some prestigious London club taking part in a drinking game where Eric was trying to drink us all under the table. And succeeding rather well I might add.

But he had an obvious advantage of course because he's a big guy. Not only is he tall, but he's also built. He's got a lot of muscle underneath that tight white shirt of his. So he was stomaching everything fine. Danny was keeping up rather well too, although he was slurring and his accent was so thick I could barely make out a word he was saying. Lana and I however were absolutely slaughtered.

My head was spinning, my voice was slurred and I was positive if I were to get up I wouldn't be able to stand. Hell I couldn't even sit up straight, for the past half hour I'd been slumped into Danny like a lifeline. And for some odd reason Lana and I were having a giggly conversation about umbrellas and trying every cocktail on the menu.

"Ya know what?" Lana slurred suddenly pointing her swizzle stick violently at me, little umbrellas were scattered all over the table.

I pushed myself away from Danny and sat up straight, "what?"

."I feel like dancing," Lana pronounced dramatically, "do you want to come with me?"

I pointed at her, "Yes I do."

It took some time for us to get out of the booth (crawling across Danny's lap), and even more time to convince Eric and Danny to accompany us (pulling them out of the booth). But finally we were all on the dance floor dancing (or stumbling) around like absolute maniacs.

"So what do you think of Eric?" Lana questioned stumbling into me and shimmying around in a circle.

To drunk to care whether he was listening or not I replied, "he was hot to start out with. But the more I drink the better looking he becomes. So at the beginning of the night I rated him an eight, but now…" I opened my arms wide, "now he's off the chart."

"I know," Lana, gushed, "isn't he gorgeous. But speaking of gorgeous I have to admit Danny is one sexy man."

I froze. Eric eavesdropping was one thing, but Danny over hearing was on a whole other level. I glanced over Lana's shoulder to make sure he was out of hearing range. I smirked when I saw him, out of hearing range. Check. Being mauled by an admirer. Check.

"He's alright," I admitted taking Lana's hands and spinning her around.

"Alright? Amber, he has every girl in the UK running after him," Lana retaliated

"Well he's famous, isn't he? So it's like a right," I replied pointing at Danny and the random female, "maybe ya know, its some kind of law."

"You don't think he's hot?" Lana questioned looking at me in disbelief.

I pondered it, "he's…"

"Amber, you asked him to come here with you so you must have some feelings towards him," Lana reasoned.

I wrinkled my nose, "actually we had a deal and he lost so…"

Lana waved her hand, "so what, it doesn't change the face he's utterly shagable," she reasoned stumbling into a random and not even bothering to apologise.

I pointed at her, "I'm going to tell Eric you said that."

"Don't you dare," Lana shrieked.

I laughed danced around to the thumping beat. It was warm out on the dance floor and the bright lights were blurry through my drunken vision. I felt fantastic and free as a bird. Lana and I danced around the dance floor, never staying in one spot long enough to dance with the boys around us.

Until Danny ran up to us and flung his arms around me, "save me!" he gasped wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me against him.

I laughed throwing my arms around his neck and moving to the beat, "save you? From what?"

"That girl," Danny replied, "Jess I think her name was. Or maybe it was Tess, I think she may have been a man."

I laughed and obliged, dancing the next few songs with him (willingly since he was a pretty good dancer), until Lana found us again with Eric in tow

"Hey lets get out of here," Lana yelled, "it's boiling, and what's the time?

Danny checked his watch over my shoulder, "its just before three."

"Lets go get more drinks, bitches," Lana suggested grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I shrugged and grabbed Danny and together we left the dance floor.

"Are you having fun?" I asked Danny once we were on less hectic ground.

"What was that?" he asked leaning down to hear me better.

"I said are you having fun?" I repeated a little louder leaning into him and catching a whiff of his cologne.

"Yeah I am," he replied wrapping an arm around my shoulders and leading me back to the booth, "thanks for inviting me."

"Well it wasn't really an invitation," I replied with a grin, "more like you lost a bet."

Danny paused and looked at me, "I would have come ya know, if you asked me, even if I didn't owe you something.

"Really?" I murmured. I blame the alcohol in my system for what happened next, "so does that mean you'll come out with me again?"

Danny smiled, "yeah."

"Fantastic," I smiled, "on that note, let's have another round of drinks!"

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"Alright folks, time to go. We're closing in five minutes."

By this point I was so pissed that I didn't even notice bouncers escorting us out of the club and onto the streets of London. I vaguely recall shivering out on the streets and Danny wrapping his coat around me. Nothing of the taxi ride home, but I remember nearly choking to death laughing when Danny ran into a glass door. I also remembered the sun peaking oddly through my drawn curtains as Danny pulled off my shoes and tucked me into bed, a soft kiss on my forehead and then sleep, blissful sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Oh Cheryl that looks amazing! Its really coming along isn't it?"

Those were the first words that dulled into my senses several hours later. I blinked my eyes open and winced at the sunlight that was streaming through my open curtains.

"Bloody hell," I groaned as my stomach lurched. Stumbling out of bed and into the bathroom, I threw myself over the sink and didn't move for a very long time. But when my stomach was finally empty I stumbled back into bed, shivering uncontrollably. Then sleep, blissful sleep.

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Waking up for a second time I was grateful that my stomach wasn't twisting around as though I'd just been on a roller coaster. But my head was thumping and my limbs felt like jelly. Rolling out of bed I padded over to the pantry and located some aspirin before jumping immediately into the shower to get rid of the gross feeling that surrounded me.

Once I was feeling a little more human, I dressed in black and slouched out onto my balcony.

"How are you feeling?"

I slumped down onto my banana lounge and looked over at Danny who was spread out on his balcony, take away food in front of him. "I am never drinking again," I groaned curling up into a small ball facing his direction.

Danny grinned, "That's what we all say."

I eyed his food, "how long have you been up and about?"

"Only about an hour or so," Danny replied munching on a chip, "you sounded sick this morning."

I groaned.

"Although considering the mess you were in by the end of last night, I guess it shouldn't be surprising."

I smirked, "hey, I wasn't the only drunk one last night. I vaguely recall someone, whose name I will not mention, walking into a glass door on the way home."

Danny winced, "I was hoping you'd be drunk enough not to remember that."

"It was possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen," I replied, laughing at the flashback, "Did I do anything embarrassing?"

"You were cute," Danny replied with a laugh, "by the end of the night you could barely walk and you were slurring so badly I couldn't make out a word you were saying."

"Shut up you," I smiled, "So what'd you think of all my work mates?" I questioned curiously, pulling my baseball cap low on my face and slumping lower into my seat.

"They were good fun," Danny replied screwing up his rubbish and chucking it over his shoulder back into his apartment, "Lana and Eric seem nice. We should do something with them again."

I raised an eyebrow, "we should? Danny are you implying that along with going out together again, we should hang out more often as well?"

Danny shrugged, "yeah. Why not?"

* * *

So just like that we went from two people who barely saw each other, to two people who were really good friends. It was an easy friendship. Due to our living arrangements we saw each other daily and would hang out whenever we felt the need. We got into a habit of eating dinner together, (Danny made the best spaghetti bolognaise in the world), and we would go out every weekend to nightclubs we chose at random. Danny introduced me to the rest of the boys in McFly and I introduced him officially to all my work mates.

Everything was fantastic; I even talked Danny into giving me some guitar lessons. Which is why one late afternoon I found myself sitting cross-legged in his apartment guitar in hand.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," I murmured, strumming through the introduction to "Nothing." (Authors Note: Everyone listen to the song. So you know what Amber is playing.)

"Everything she says to me means nothing, even words of sympathy mean nothing," Danny sang as I strummed through the song, "I'm feeling down and I hate the sound of nothing, what's the point in hanging round for nothing… and I…"

"Wait, wait!" I called as I paused and maneuvered my fingers onto the right frets, "I hate your bloody guitar," I complained as I did this, "evil beast that cuts up my fingers."

"Your fingers are too soft that's all," Danny replied, "let me see."

I held out my hand with an exaggerated wince.

"Awww," Danny cooed, taking my hand and running his fingers over the imprints his guitar strings had left on my fingers, "I'll book you into the hospital," he teased.

I snatched my hand away, "lets just finish this damn song."

Danny was just opening his mouth to reply when his phone rang. I watched as he dug through his pockets and flipped his cell phone open, "hello?" He grinned, "hey Tom."

My eyes widened and I pointed at my self, "Amber says hello," I whispered.

"Amber says hello," Danny repeated, "and that you're a sexy beast."

I rolled my eyes and started playing the song again, although admittedly he was rather attractive.

"Yeah she's here… yeah that's her playing… nah I don't know… what are you doing… oh ok…."

I hated one-way conversations.

"Awesome…yeah we'll be there…"

"We will?" I repeated in confusion.

Danny nodded and gave me the thumbs up, "ok, yep in half an hour… See you then. Bye."

"Where will we be in half an hour?" I questioned when Danny hung up.

"Tom's got two extra tickets to Muse," Danny informed me, "Do you want to go?"

"Muse?" I repeated ceasing my playing, "hell yes!"

"Ok, lets go then. Tom wants us at his house in half an hour," Danny continued putting his guitar aside and jumping to his feet. He strode over to his wardrobe, pulling his shirt off along the way.

"Half an hour," I repeated, "is that all? I need a shower!" Then without a second word I practically ran out of Danny's apartment.

* * *

"So you're a fan I presume?" Danny questioned as we strolled from our apartment block fully dressed, guitar lessons forgotten.

"I think I've gotten a bit old to be a fan," I replied grabbing onto Danny's arm, "its not like they'd come out on stage and I'd start crying or anything. I don't love them. It's more like I've known and respected their music for a long time."

Danny flagged down a taxi and opened the door for me, "so you're a fan of their music and not them?"

I slid into the backseat, "well to be a fan of their music you have to be a fan of them to some degree."

Danny slid in after me and gave the driver directions, "this whole conversation just got way to confusing."

I smirked, "I like their music. Lets leave it at that."

Danny frowned, "I'd like it if more people liked McFly for our music and not for the way we look."

I shook my head, "only some people are like that."

"A lot of people," Danny corrected me.

"It doesn't really matter how much they love the way you look, they still like your music. Its just not their number one priority," I grinned, "I'll black and white it for you ok. Are you ready?"

Danny laughed, "sure."

"Ok, when I first graduated university I started working for a record company. And within that time I pretty much established that there are two types of fans. Type A are the fans that will get into McFly and go crazy. They'll plaster their walls with posters and gush over how cute you all are. It will last for about six months and then they'll move onto the next big thing. It's all about trends. You following?"

Danny nodded.

"Type B are the fans who although they may think you're all the hottest things they have ever seen, they also really like your music. So they buy all your albums and get down to the nitty gritty about arrangements and guitar solos. It's about respect for what you guys do, and for who you are as musicians."

"Simple as that?" Danny questioned.

I shrugged and stared out the window, "well that's only the black and white version. In any situation there are many shades of gray as well."

Danny looked at me curiously, "what type are you?"

I smirked and replied without hesitation, "I was a mixture between A and B."

Danny looked at me curiously, "explain."

"Well," I murmured, "I noticed you all for your sex appeal, but I stuck around for your music. Then more important things took over like work and university, so the whole affair only lasted for a few months."

"And yet a few years later you're still singing "Five Colors in Her Hair" in the shower," Danny laughed as the taxi pulled up in front of Tom's place.

I pointed at him, "You just wait until I get some black mail on you…"

Danny waved his hand, "empty threats." He leaned forward and shoved a handful of pills at the driver telling him to keep the change.

I opened my door and stepped out, "well I can always sing a different song if you like." I paused thoughtfully and wracked my brains.

"That would be nice," Danny replied grabbing my arm and pulling me up the driveway.

Suddenly a song hit me and I started singing loud and off tune, "its all about yoouuuu. It's all about yoouuuu bay-beeee. Its all about yoooouuu, its all about you-oooo."

Danny laughed and covered my mouth before reaching out and hitting the doorbell, "that's terrible Amber. Especially since I know you can sing."

I laughed and smacked his hand away, " relax, I can't remember the rest anyways."

The front door opened and Tom smirked at me, "Do you want me to write you out the lyrics?"

"Yeah," I agreed enthusiastically.

"No," Danny protested at the same time.

* * *

To be continued... REVIEW! 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

I was a sweaty mess by the time we returned to Tom's apartment that night. The spare tickets were in general admission, which meant I spent most of the set alternating between jumping around like an idiot and struggling to stay alive.

Best night of my life.

"Have you ever really thought about a mosh pit in a literal sense?" I questioned randomly, holding my damp t-shirt away from my body.

Danny looked at me strangely. His hair was wet and hanging limply in his eyes, "no."

"You come out with the most random comments, Amber," Tom added as he unlocked his front door.

"I'm serious," I insisted, "I mean think about it. Five hundred people, all in very close proximity, sweating, and jumping around together." I smirked, "does that not strike you as odd?"

"If they were naked it would," Danny smirked, "can you imagine that?"

"It would be the biggest orgy ever," Tom grinned opening the door and gesturing us inside.

"Five hundred sweaty naked people all jumping around idolizing three guys on stage," I grinned, "I kind of like it."

"Are they all female?" Danny questioned.

I shoved him, "you wish."

"Do you guys want to stay the night?" Tom questioned as he strolled into his house turning on lights as he went. He grinned over his shoulder at us, "You can spoon in the guest bed room."

"A boy and a girl sweaty and spooning." Danny smirked at me, "that's sexual."

"I had an orgy at a Muse concert and then spooned with a sweaty Danny Jones," I mused, "I'm the envy of teenage girls everywhere."

"So is that a yes?" Tom questioned digging through a cupboard and extracting some towels and chucking them in our direction.

I caught the towel, "yeah," I replied answering for both of us, "thanks Tom."

* * *

An hour later after several fights for the first shower (which Danny won after tackling Tom to the floor), and distribution of Tom's clothes (where I couldn't stop laughing at his Sponge Bob Square Pants t-shirt), I found myself up in the guest bedroom sliding into bed with Danny Jones.

"You don't snore do you?" I questioned as slipped under the covers clothed in a t-shirt of Tom's.

"No," Danny replied who had borrowed a pair of boxer shorts, "although I had a blocked nose once, and apparently they could hear me snoring at the other end of the house." He flicked off the light, "do you snore?"

"No," I murmured snuggling down into the blankets.

I felt rather then saw Danny slip into bed beside me. Next thing I knew his arm was wrapping around my waist and he was pulling me back against his chest so we were spooned snugly together.

"Good night Amber," he murmured into my hair.

"Night," I whispered. Why in the world was my heart beating faster than usual?

* * *

Waking up the next morning was a strange affair. The first thought that drifted into my conscience was how warm it was. The second was that there was something heavy draped across my waist. The third occurred when I opened my eyes and freaked out when I couldn't see. It took me a few seconds to realize that the reason I couldn't see was because I was in such close proximity to Danny. We were practically nose-to-nose.

I rubbed my eyes and put a bit of distance between us. When I could see him properly I trailed my eyes over his face lazily. At moments like this I suppose I should ponder how peaceful he looked. Truth was he didn't look peaceful at all. He was frowning slightly and his cheeks were flushed as though he had a fever.

Without even thinking I reached out and stroked his hair away from his forehead, watching carefully as his face relaxed at my touch. I stroked my cool fingers across his jaw line before sighing and rolling onto my back. It was happening again.

My heart was once again thumping at a pace to fast to be considered normal.

I groaned. I had a bloody crush on Danny Jones. How inconvenient.

* * *

"I knew it!"

I winced and shushed Lana, "keep your voice down, these walls are thin you know."

"Relax, he's not even home." Lana grinned, "Amber and Danny, sitting in the tree…" she trailed off and smirked, "Amber I don't think you've had a crush on anyone since you moved to London."

I wrinkled my nose, "I haven't. I swore off boys after I broke up with Bastard."

"And now you've had a year or so to rejuvenate," Lana shrugged, "perfect time to get back onto the field."

I rested my chin on my palm, "playing the field isn't exactly what I had in mind."

Lana waved her hand dismissively, "of course not. You want Danny's babies."

I rolled my eyes, "I wouldn't go that far."

"So what's your plan?"

"I don't have one," I admitted, "that's why I came to you."

"Why don't you just seduce him?" Lana questioned.

"If I had of figured out I liked him four months ago then that may have worked," I mused, "but now we have an awkward 'friendship' label going on."

Lana groaned, "Oh I hate that label."

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

"Has he given you any indications at all?"

I shrugged, "its hard to tell, he flirts with everything on legs."

Lana frowned, "he didn't flirt with me." She paused thoughtfully, "I feel left out."

I stared at her and laughed, "shut up Lana."

She laughed and shrugged, "alright we could be here all night coming up with a game plan. Lets order in pizza."

* * *

After several hours of discussion accompanied by several pieces of pizza I was feeling much better about the whole situation. It was around two in the morning when I said goodbye to Lana. By three I was drifting off into a peaceful sleep when suddenly loud jangling outside my front door awoke me.

I sat up and frowned in confusion. It sounded like someone was trying to open my door with a set of keys. I rolled out of bed and stumbled over to the door. Flicking on the lights I flung the door open, and stared in amazement as a soaking wet Danny was revealed on the other side, keys in hand.

He looked up at me and frowned in confusion, "Amber, what are you doing in my apartment?"

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips, "this is my apartment you drunken idiot."

Danny looked from me to the number on the door, and a look of comprehension crossed his face, "oh."

I shook my head, "give me those," I ordered snatching his keys out of his hand, "honestly Danny," I grabbed his arm and helped him down the hall to his actual apartment door, "did you indulge in the drinking game part three tonight? And why are you wet?"

Danny slumped against the wall and watched as I unlocked the door for him, "went to the pub with Eric and walked home in the rain."

I pushed the door open and gestured him inside, "with Eric?" I repeated, "how random."

Danny stumbled through the door and fell onto his bed. I winced automatically on the poor bed sheets behalf. God he was drunk.

"I got his number from that work party of yours. Decided I needed a masculine chat." Danny informed me as he threw an arm over his eyes.

"About what?" I questioned curiously as I took off his shoes.

"Girls," Danny murmured.

"Really? Like who?" I questioned.

Danny removed his arm, "you, mainly."

A thousand different thoughts raced through my head, "me?" I murmured, leaning forward and managing to get his soaked jacket off. "What about me?"

"Different things," Danny muttered shivering ever so slightly as he rolled onto his side and curling up, "thoughts, feelings. Is it cold in here?"

"No," I replied with a grin, "your just in wet clothes. You should really get changed Danny."

He nodded, and rolled himself off the bed. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when he began undoing his belt buckle. All sorts of inappropriate thoughts raced through my brain, each more erotic than the last. I was just weighing up whether to turn away or not when Danny brushed past me and grabbed some fresh boxers before he entered the bathroom.

_Awwww _my inner vixen whined.

He exited the bathroom a few moments later and stumbled back to his bed, "you know what?" he slurred allowing me to pull the covers over him.

"What?" I questioned.

"I really like you Amber."

I froze. Friends I assured myself. He likes me as a friend.

"I like you too Danny, you're a good friend" I replied.

He shook his head and rolled onto his side, "no, not like that… I like you like…"

My heart was racing, "like what?"

No answer. He was fast asleep.

* * *

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

It was a perfect London morning. The temperature was just right, the sun was shining, a large cup of steaming coffee was sitting in front of me, and I had my laptop open with the prospect of getting some work done. Everything was perfect.

I was distracted as hell.

I had been slumped out on my balcony since sunrise. I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since Danny dropped his bombshell on me. So after replaying the conversation a dozen or so times (each with an ending that was anything but Danny falling asleep), I proceeded to clean my apartment, reorganize my CD collection, eat a tub of ice cream, bake some chocolate chip cookies, and write an extremely lengthy diary entry.

Hence it was 6am and I found myself out on my balcony consuming my weight in cookies and drinking coffee at steady intervals while staring at my laptop blankly.

I groaned and pushed myself to my feet before slamming my laptop shut. Screw this.

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_Danny's fingers trailed tantalizingly over my skin, smoothing across my ribs and down the expanse of my stomach. His lips pressed hot open kisses down the length of my neck and I groaned pressing myself closer to him. I shivered in his arms as his teeth nipped at my earlobe before his lips crashed back to mine. I ran my fingers through his hair and…_

"Amber… Amber!"

I blinked out of my daze and it took me several moments to regain my bearings. A desk, computer, cream walls and a busy office dotted with work cubicles. Ah yes… work.

I turned my gaze to Lana who was standing beside my desk a bewildered look on her face, "you know, that press release isn't going to write itself," she informed me, sneaking a peak at my computer screen and seeing the two lines I had written.

I groaned and massaged my temples, pushing away the remains of my daydream; "I'm not in the most focused mood today."

"Clearly. You do realize your jacket is on inside out."

I looked down at myself and frowned, "no its not."

Lana shrugged, "you still had to check didn't you?"

"Smart arse," I muttered. I sighed, "you do realize my morning has been torture?"

"I don't see why," Lana replied, pushing a pile of papers out of way and settling herself down on the edge of my desk, "he said he liked you. Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah, but a pronouncement like that is usually followed by kisses, which inevitably leads to shagging, which then leads on to a relationship of some sort." I leant back in my chair and crossed my arms, "I clearly got the raw end of the deal. I got drunken pronouncements of 'like,' followed by loss of conscience, and then amnesia in the morning."

"And now the world is ending," Lana finished for me with a grin.

"Now the world has officially ended," I corrected her as I bit at my nails.

"Why don't you just ask him about it?" Lana asked, "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

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I shoved my hands into my pockets and stared at Danny's apartment door. My eyes swept over its clean white surface, carefully observing every crack and dent. I reluctantly acknowledged I didn't have any real interest in his door and bit my lip.

Who would have thought this would be so difficult. I knew he liked me right? Well, I assumed he did. He was rather drunk. I grimaced and bit at my fingernails as I eyed the doorknocker.

Finally after giving myself an internal pep talk I gathered together all my confidence and rapped on his door.

"Come in," Danny mumbled from the inside.

I pushed open his door and stepped inside. Utter darkness. I waited patiently for my eyes to adjust. Danny had his curtains drawn and every light on his apartment was off, "wow," I remarked cheerfully, "did someone sink their teeth into your neck last night?"

The lump on the bed rolled over, "what?"

I flicked on the light, "sitting in utter darkness, is a very vampire like trait."

Danny cringed and shielded his eyes, "a bit of warning next time thanks Amber."

"Feel like shit huh?" I questioned as I padded through his apartment. I pulled open his curtains letting the late afternoon light stream into his bedroom.

Danny peered at me through bleary eyes, "I feel like I've been run over by a train."

I glanced at him, "you look it to."

He frowned, "thanks."

"You were a mess last night," I informed him raking my eyes over his messy hair, "do you remember anything?"

"Bits and pieces," Danny replied propping himself up on one elbow and rubbing his eyes, "I didn't do anything embarrassing did I?"

"Aside from trying to get into my apartment with _your_ keys, everything was fine."

Danny stared at me, "are you serious?"

I plopped myself down on the edge of his bed, "dead serious."

Danny mulled it over, "I was wondering how I ran into you. Shit, that must have been at like 3am, I'm sorry Am."

I waved my hand, "forget about it. You were cute."

"Did I say anything awkward?"

_Yes, _"No," I murmured, "why?"

Danny shrugged and avoided my eyes, "no reason."

Hence officially began the night that never existed.

The weeks that followed that infamous night were interesting to say the least. Something was different between the two of us; something had changed. It was almost as though we had chemistry now. There was awareness between us that had never been there before, a constant awareness that sizzled like an energy field. I could feel it and I know he could too. We had crossed that line, the invisible line of friendship, and there was no turning back now.

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To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven **

I barged into Danny's room, "I need a huge massive favour."

Danny glanced up from his magazine, "hello to you too?"

I dropped my bag on the floor and shed off my work jacket, "are you going to hear me out or not?"

Danny set aside his magazine, "you have my full attention."

"Fantastic," I plopped down beside him on his bed, "ok, so I was at work today right, and out of the blue they inform me that there's an awards night coming up."

"An awards night?" Danny repeated leaning back against his pillows and stretching out his legs.

I nodded, "yeah, it has the same kind of concept as the 'random nights on the town,' except in this case someone decides we're all working to hard, and we need a nice shiny trophy to prove it."

"And you want me to come with you," Danny supplied.

I nodded, "I'll be eternally grateful."

Danny shrugged, "sure, I'd love to."

"Really?" I questioned, "Oh I love you." I got to my feet, grabbed my bag and began digging through it, "its for this weekend. Is that enough notice for you?"

"My schedule is completely free until next month," Danny replied.

I stopped digging and glanced at him, "really? What's going on next month?"

Danny shrugged and played with his fingernails, "we go on tour."

I froze and stared at him, "really, for how long?"

"Well the tour is two months, and then we head into the studio to do some demos before recording the new album," Danny explained watching my reactions carefully.

"Wow," I murmured plopping back down onto his bed, my search for invitations forgotten, "so you pull another Danny Jones disappearing act huh?"

Danny smiled softly, "something like that."

I was silent.

It was such a bizarre concept to consider. Danny leaving? I had become so accustomed to his little quirks and habits, and so used to seeing him on a daily basis, that it was easy to believe that he would be there forever. We were good friends, I liked him, I trusted him, I enjoyed spending time with him and I was attracted like hell to him. He was one of the few people in my life I felt like I could really count on.

But now he was leaving, heading back off into the music scene. Would he be away for so long that he became Mr. Room 302 all over again.

I nodded, and lowered my eyes, "you'll be back right?"

Danny grinned, "of course."

That broke the ice a bit and I grinned back, before continuing my dig through my bag. I finally extracted the invitations and passed him one, "here we go."

Danny scanned it and raised an eyebrow, "black tie dress code?"

I nodded and stood up, "yeah, you have a suit don't you?"

Danny rolled his eyes, "of course."

I put my coat back on, "fantastic. Listen I got to go, I have a few more days at work to slog my way through before I can booze it up with you."

Danny laughed and rolled off his bed, "you're going to get drunk at your awards night?"

I slung my bag over my shoulder, "absolutely. Last time Lana and I were so pissed we ended up on the stage singing "I Will Survive." It was the best night of my life."

Danny opened the door for me, "the worst thing about that is that I can actually picture it."

"We're rowdy when we get drunk," I informed him as I stepped out into the hallway. I paused and turned to face him suddenly serious, "hey, you'll call me and stuff when you leave wont you?"

Instead of answering Danny did the most perfect thing I could imagine in a situation like that. He stepped forward and pulled me into a massive bear hug. An 'everything will be ok' bear hug. He squeezed me tight before pulling back and pressing a kiss to my forehead, "of course I'll call," he assured me.

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"Hey are you ready yet? I think we…. Whoa!"

I glanced over my shoulder to see Danny standing in my doorway, hands firmly over his eyes. I smiled, "never seen underwear before Danny?"

"Not on you," he replied bluntly.

"Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time," I mused grabbing a towel and wrapping it around myself, "moments like these are great examples as to why one should knock before barging into a ladies room. Did your mother teach you nothing?"

Danny frowned, "I'm sorry. Are you decent now?"

"In a towel. But I can't find anything to wear."

Danny removed his hand from is eyes and glanced at my closet that was bursting to its seams with clothes. He stared at me, "you can't be serious."

"I'm very serious."

"You do realize we're late."

"I know."

"Amber," Danny whined.

"Well can I get an opinion?" I questioned. I grabbed two dresses from my closet and held them up for him to see, "what do you think?"

Danny glanced at them, "they're nice."

"Thanks, but which one do you think I should wear?"

"Is this one of those questions where there is no right answer?" Danny questioned plopping down onto my bed.

I shook my head, "I trust your opinion."

"You do?"

"Yeah, so which one?"

"I don't know Amber. You'd look nice in both of them."

"Danny," I whined.

Danny rolled his eyes, "ok then the blue one."

"Thank you."

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"Our first award goes to Cheryl Summers."

I groaned, "oh god."

Danny clapped politely and watched the middle aged woman practically run up onto the stage, "what's wrong with that?"

"Last year her speech went for half an hour," I informed him.

"She insisted on thanking everyone she could think of," Lana added from across the table, "maybe this year she can thank her mum for making that dress for her."

I sniggered.

Up on stage Cheryl took her award and pranced over to the microphone, "Thank you so much! Now as always there are so many people I would like to say a big thank you to, I have no idea where to start…"

"You can start with the curtains that are missing from your house because you are wearing them," Lana smirked.

Eric, Danny and I all snorted with laughter.

"You're particularly vicious this year, Lana," I mused slumping down into my seat and getting comfortable.

Lana frowned, "I hate awards nights."

"How many have you been to?" Danny asked curiously.

Lana smiled, "oh this is only my second one. I started working when Amber did."

"Lana's just bitter because she didn't get an award last time," I smirked, "which is quite understandable considering we'd only been working here for like three months."

"You got one," Lana pointed out.

"I give a good first impression," I replied with a shrug.

"Really?" Eric questioned, "I thought you were a right weirdo when I first met you."

I blinked, 'thanks Eric."

He grinned, "no problem."

I turned to Danny, "did you think I was a weirdo when we first met?"

Danny shook his head, "I thought you were beautiful."

It was one of those rare moments where I found myself utterly tongue tied with nothing to say. I stared at him and he stared back, and I felt it. That connection. I was distantly aware of Lana saying something to Eric, and the quiet chatter amidst Cheryl thanking individual after individual. But none of that really mattered at that moment. All that mattered was Danny's blue eyes boring into mine, and the awareness that sizzled between us.

At that moment I knew that he remembered. I realized he knew exactly what he said to me that infamous night. He was just opening his mouth to say something when suddenly my name was called.

"Amber Blair."

I blinked and tore my eyes away from his. The connection was broken. I glanced up to the stage in confusion and saw the Gremlin gesturing me to come up there.

Acting almost on autopilot I got to my feet and briefly met Danny's eyes once more before making my way up onto stage to collect my award.

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"What in the world was going on with you and Danny before?" Lana asked curiously later on that evening when the award giving was over and everyone had relocated into the ballroom.

I stared at my little plaque curiously before shoving it into my handbag, "we had a moment," I answered simply.

"A moment?" Lana repeated, "Could you be anymore vague?"

"I'm not sure," I replied utterly distracted, "do you know where he is?"

"Who?"

"Danny."

"Last I heard he was going to the toilets," Lana responded passing me a drink.

I took it, "I need to talk to him."

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Easier said than done. It's amazing how difficult it can be to make your way across a room when suddenly every single person wants to talk to you. Out of nowhere people I didn't even recognize were congratulating me on my award and buying be drinks.

Before I even realized what was going on it was closing time and we were all being loaded into taxis to go home.

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**To be continued... **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"Taxi for one miss?"

I shook my head and stood on tiptoe, "no, I need to find my friend, I…"

"Amber!"

I spun around and sighed in relief when I noticed Danny pushing his way through the crowd towards me, "oh thank god," I murmured stepping out of the taxi rank and meeting him halfway.

"Where were you all night?" Danny questioned, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the way of several disgruntled people.

"I was being congratulated by possibly everyone I work with," I replied as several people jostled me as they walked past, "I'm sorry I left you to your own defences."

Danny shrugged and grabbed my hand, guiding me back into the queue for taxis, "its alright, I actually spent most the night talking to your boss. She remembered me from last time. I think she fancies me."

'I imagine most people do," I murmured under my breath.

"What was that?" Danny questioned, stooping down a bit so he was at my level.

I bit my lip and looked at him, before flying completely off topic "did we have a moment?" I blurted out suddenly.

Danny blinked trailed his eyes over my face slowly before he shoved his hands into his pockets, "yeah we had one."

I nodded. I acknowledged inwardly that this probably wasn't the best time or place to be having this conversation (three o'clock, tipsy and in the middle of a taxi rank). But it would do.

"The other night," I began, "you said something to me when you were drunk, and its been bugging me ever since because it was so…" I struggled for a word, "unfinished." I paused and scanned his face, "are we on the same wave length?"

Danny nodded, "yeah we are," he murmured.

"Look," I began turning to face him and looking him in the eye, "I'm going to be very honest with you. I like you ok? I like you a lot and if what you were drunkenly slurring the other night is pointing in the direction I hope it is, then I think you like me to. And I…"

"There you two are!"

I closed my eyes in annoyance and turned around to see Lana bounding up to us with Eric in tow.

"Lana you have the best timing in the world," I said sarcastically as she approached.

"What?" Lana laughed, obviously to drunk to pick up on my sarcasm. "Hey we came to find you two because we have another ride home. Do you want to join us?"

"Well, I…"

"Fantastic, lets go."

And without another word Lana grabbed my arm and dragged us off.

-------------------------------------------

I was incredibly annoyed by the time Lana had pulled me ten meters down the road. I was even more annoyed when we got to the so-called "destination" to find the taxi had taken off without us.

"He said he'd wait," Eric was complaining loudly as Lana fished through her bag for her mobile phone.

I frowned; they dragged me away from a very important conversation for this?

I sighed and glanced over my shoulder to see Danny leaning against the wall. He gestured me over.

"That possibly wasn't the best conversation to be interrupted," he mused as I approached.

I crossed my arms and smiled softly, "it's ruined my momentum."

"I'll take over if you like," Danny offered.

I nodded, "please do."

Danny shoved his hands into his pockets and briefly glanced at Eric and Lana before turning his attention back to me, "ok, just to get things all out into the open, what I was trying to drunkenly tell you the other night is that I like you. Not like a friend, and not like a sister but like a…" Danny struggled for a word.

"Girlfriend kind of like," I suggested.

Danny hesitated, "Yes. I wasn't going to tell you though."

"Why not?"

Danny shrugged, "because we'd just reached a stage where we were really good friends. I didn't want to fuck anything up."

"You didn't," I assured him.

"Of course I did," Danny retaliated, "because I'm me and you're you."

I was stumped, "I'm not following."

"I'm leaving in three weeks and I'm not sure when I'll be coming back," Danny informed me, "this is the first lengthy holiday I've had since McFly started. How can we have a proper relationship if I'm never around?"

I stared at him.

"I'll be leaving just when things start to get good," Danny explained quietly, "and if things are good I definitely don't want you to be waiting around for me for six months because I mpppffff…"

Whatever he was going to say I didn't get to hear because at that moment I had launched myself forward and crashed my lips to his. I didn't want to hear about what would happen after Danny left and I didn't want to think about what we had together. All I knew and cared about was that I liked him and he liked me, and I was currently kissing him and it was amazing.

It was at that moment that all the emotion I had felt over the past week came to a crashing halt. Why in the world was I awkward over this whole situation? Why in the world didn't I just shake Danny awake that night and have it out with him then?

Those questions remained unanswered however. Because my mind was suddenly wiped completely blank as Danny emerged from his shock and wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulled me against him, as our lips met again and again.

I leaned into Danny's body and wrapped my arms him, trailing my fingers through the soft hair that brushed his collar, as his lips caressed mine. He felt amazing. His lips were incredibly soft and responsive under my own, his body was warm, and he smelt fantastic.

I deepened the kiss and Danny clutched me tighter in response. Holding me so close that I could have sworn I could feel his heart beating through his chest. I couldn't get enough of him, I felt like I could have stood there kissing him all night long. It was freezing, but my body was burning up at every little area that his fingers touched; down my arms, across my back, up my neck to my jaw line.

We stood there kissing for what felt like a lifetime, but in reality what were probably only a few minutes.

From somewhere outside myself I suddenly heard someone clearing their throat.

"Honestly, you guys," the voice pouted.

Danny lifted his lips from mine and I glanced over his shoulder to see Lana and Eric standing beside a yellow taxi, identical smirks on their faces.

How embarrassing.

--------------------------------------------

"Make sure Lana gets some water into her system before she falls asleep," I ordered Eric as we pulled up outside Muscrove Apartments, "and tell the drunken idiot to call me," I added with a grin, poking a sleeping Lana with my index finger.

Eric smiled at me from the front seat, "I will. Danny, call me sometime and we'll catch up before you leave alright?"

Danny nodded and closed the taxi door, "absolutely mate."

"Bye guys."

Danny and I both watched as the taxi pulled away from the curb. It was a rather scenic moment. The sky was just beginning to lighten with the hints of dawn, and there was a light mist hanging in the air from the early morning cold weather. At any other time I might have stood around to take in the view. But now…

I yawned, "I'm going to bed."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Danny replied, holding the door open for me and gesturing me through it. Together we walked through the lobby and up to the third floor.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Danny asked me, as I stumbled down the hallway, attempting to get my heels off and walk at the same time.

"Absolutely nothing," I replied leaning against the wall between Danny and my doors, "did you have anything in mind?"

"A very greasy breakfast," Danny replied shoving his hands into his pockets and mirroring my stance, "then I was thinking we might do dinner or something."

"Like an official date?" I questioned with a smile.

"Something like that."

I pretended to consider it; "well I suppose I could free up some time in my busy schedule."

"Fantastic," Danny grinned, leaning forward cupping my face and pressing his lips to mine, "then I will be seeing you in the morning at 6am sharp."

'That's an hour away."

"Oh," Danny checked his watch, "greasy lunch then?"

"Sounds great," I murmured, extracting my keys from my handbag and opening my apartment, "then I will see you tomorrow afternoon Mr. Room 302."

I watched as Danny unlocked his apartment and a sudden urge hit me, "hey, do want to stay the night?"

Danny ceased trying to get his apartment door unlocked and turned to look at me instead. He leant against the door jam, "really?"

I nodded, suddenly nervous. We both knew exactly what I was implying by asking him to stay.

"Well," Danny began, taking a few steps towards me, "since the night is almost done, and the morning is only an hour away. How about I stay the morning instead?"

"But then what would we do for the next hour?" I asked with a smirk, as I reached out and grabbed Danny's belt, pulling him closer towards me.

"I'm sure we could think of a few things," Danny replied closing the last few tantalising inches between us, and pulling me into his arms.

"I'm sure we could," I murmured reaching up and fiddling with his tie. I looked into his eyes, "so is that a yes?"

Danny leant forward, bringing his lips to my ear, "you know it is," he whispered.

I bit my lip and clutched at his arms as the sensation of his warm breath puffing across my neck sent shivers down my spine. Goosebumps erupted as his teeth nipped playfully at my earlobe, and before I knew it I was shoving him into my room and slamming the door behind us.

"Whatever happened to ladies first?" Danny asked playfully as he pushed me up against the door I had just slammed and lowered his lips to mine.

"Chivalry is dead," I murmured between kisses, pushing his suit jacket off his shoulders, where it pooled on the floor at our feet.

Danny mumbled something I didn't quite catch against my lips before kissing me so passionately that it made my head spin. I buried my fingers into his soft hair and deepened the kiss, clutching him as close as possible to me, basking in the way his body felt so close to mine. It was one of those moments where we were so involved in one another that a herd of elephants could have stampeded past and I wouldn't have even noticed.

Danny's warm fingers were smoothing up my bare arms, and pushing my dress's spaghetti straps off my shoulders, before pressing hot kisses to my cool skin. "Beautiful," Danny mumbled against the skin of my neck, his hands smoothing across my stomach.

"Don't tease me," I whispered as Danny's fingers trailed tantalisingly close to my breasts before venturing elsewhere. I trailed my hands up his chest and undid his tie.

Danny smiled and met my eyes, "why not?" he asked, our faces so close together that our lips were mere centimetres apart.

I maintained eye contact, and began to undo the buttons of his white dress shirt, "because if you play with fire you might get burnt."

"Is that a threat?" Danny murmured, his voice low and husky, his thumbs making small circles on my hips.

"It's a warning," I replied, opening his shirt and trailing my eyes over his chest before crashing my lips back to his.

I could feel Danny's arousal against my hip, and the thought of it drove me wild as I pushed Danny's shirt off his shoulders, and stepped out of my dress.

Together we stumbled over to my bed, and fell onto it. It would have been perfectly romantic and like a scene out of a movie, except:

"Ouch, coat hanger," Danny burst out as he hit the bed.

I burst into giggles, and reached underneath his back to grab it before tossing it across the room. It hit my lamp and knocked it to the ground. We both ignored this, as I straddled Danny's lap and undid his belt buckle. I smiled seductively at him and oh so slowly undid the zip of his pants.

"Who's teasing now?" Danny asked, squirming uncomfortably underneath me.

"Sorry," I murmured pulling his trousers down his legs. I paused at his ankles, "nice tattoo." I trailed my fingers over it.

Danny let out a deep breath, "thanks."

"I never knew you had one."

"Can we talk about this later?"

I grinned and crawled back up his body, stretching out on top of him, "of course," I murmured against his lips. We kissed again and again, Danny's hands toying with my bra until it was unhooked. Next thing I knew he had pushed me onto my back and I was gasping for breath as his mouth trailed over my chest. I arched up against him as my hands clutched at his shoulders before impatiently pushing at his boxers. There would be time for foreplay later. I wanted him now.

"Danny," I breathed, my breath erratic, as his hand trailed across my stomach, and his fingers slipped underneath the elastic of my underwear.

"Hmm?" he mumbled, against my skin as he pressed a line of kisses down my stomach.

"I want you now," I groaned, biting my lip as Danny's fingers slid against private places.

"Now?" Danny asked propping himself up beside me, continuing to tease me with his fingers.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Now! Danny Jones!"

Danny smirked and pulled my underwear down my legs and removed his boxers, "alrighty then."

I bit my lip, as Danny oh so slowly thrust inside of me. I was no virgin, but it had been awhile since my last sexual encounter. The hesitation must have shown on my face because Danny froze. "Are you ok?" he asked softly.

I shifted below him and got more comfortable, and my eyes fluttered close as my movements caused him to sink deeper inside of me. "Mhmmm."

Once the hesitance was out of the way, it didn't take long for us to reach our peaks. Six months of friendship was suddenly all thrown away for one early morning of passion. Even though Danny would be leaving in a few weeks time, I knew we would certainly make the most of the time we had together. There was no turning back now.

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To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

I awoke sometime that afternoon to find Danny and I in a sweaty tangle. My right leg was dead asleep from where it was jammed between his and we were lying so close to one another, that I could feel his hair tickling my cheek. For a few moments I couldn't work out what had woken me up. But suddenly my senses zoned in on my phone ringing shrilly from my bedside table.

Ring, ring Ring, ring

I groaned and extracted one of my arms from the depths of my blankets to grab the phone, "hello?" I rasped down the line, my voice thick with sleep.

"Now, I don't remember a lot about last night," Lana began on the other end, "I think the punch was spiked."

I grinned and untangled myself from Danny before rolling onto my back.

"But I do remember a few things," Lana continued her voice light and casual, "I remember dancing the Macarena with the Gremlin."

I laughed at the visual.

"And I remember agreeing to a drinking game with Eric. And I definitely remember not getting an award."

"Aw," I sympathised. Speaking of awards, where in the world had I put mine? I scanned the room quickly, and spotted it half in and half out of my purse which had been tossed haphazardly onto the floor.

"But do you know what my most vivid memory of last night is?" Lana pressed.

I played dumb, "what?"

"I have this really crazy memory of standing in a dingy alleyway, swearing at a taxi driver and then turning around to see Danny and yourself making out by the trash cans."

"What a strange memory to have," I replied innocently.

Beside me Danny shifted and rolled over. I watched as he rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked at me curiously, "who is that?" he murmured.

I was just opening my mouth to answer him, when on the other end of the line Lana shrieked, "omg! Amber you slut," she burst out laughing, "is that Danny? You know I wasn't actually serious, I just thought I dreamt about the alleyway…" she trailed off laughing.

"You're the worst friend ever," I informed her, "I'm going now."

"No, no," Lana protested still laughing, "bloody hell, I thought you two were never going to get together. What did I miss last night?"

I glanced at Danny, my eyes trailing over his messy hair, and flushed skin, "quite a bit," I replied reaching out and smoothing a few strands out of his eyes, "look, can I call you later Lana? I have a very attractive guy beside me just demanding attention and…"

"Ew," Lana interrupted, "stop right there, I don't want to know."

I grinned, "bye Lana."

---------------------------------------------

"Hey? Did you happen to see Lana dancing the Macarena last night?" I asked Danny curiously a few hours later. We were in McDonalds eating our way through a second round of fries.

Danny stared at me blankly, before his eyes lit up and he laughed, "Oh is that what she was doing?"

I grinned, "What'd I miss?"

Danny laughed and bit into a chip, "She was just dancing and miming like an idiot. It was hilarious. Then your boss came onto the dance floor, and the Macarena came on…" Danny trailed off laughing.

"I officially feel left out," I pouted. I dug through my handbag and pulled out my forgotten award, "although I did get this."

Danny took it from me and held it up to the light, "Amber Blair," he read from the plaque, "Public Relations Consultant of the year… Impressive."

"It'd be more impressive if I got a promotion to go along with it," I replied.

Danny shrugged, "I dunno about that. I'd be pretty happy if I got a trophy for something."

"Yeah but it doesn't mean anything," I replied.

"Of course it does. According to this it means you're the best," Danny replied simply, passing the trophy back to me.

I shrugged, "it means I'm the best in a little London PR firm," I replied placing the award back in my bag.

"You want world domination huh?" Danny asked, resting his elbows on the table and surveying me curiously.

I shook my head, "not at all. I think awards like these are a cheap way to ensure your employees keep working. It's like being in primary school when they give out certificates for good spelling or whatever."

"What's your point?" Danny asked reaching across the table and twining his fingers through mine.

I grinned, "I don't think I have one."

Danny smiled back. "I think awards are a good thing. It shows someone is appreciating what your doing."

I ran my thumbs over the back of Danny's hands softly, "yeah but I don't need a piece of metal to know that."

"Then what do you need?" Danny asked curiously.

"Nothing," I answered simply, "as long as I'm doing what makes me happy then I'll be fine. I'm not in the PR industry to be the best. I'm here because I love it."

Danny stared at me for a long time before lowering his eyes, "I know what you mean," he murmured.

"I thought you would."

"Sometimes I wonder about that actually," Danny began, settling back into his seat and getting comfortable, "I wonder what I'd be doing if I wasn't in McFly."

"What do you come up with?"

Danny shrugged, "I'd be doing exactly the same thing. Just in pubs instead of arenas."

"It's a nice feeling to know your doing exactly what you want to be doing," I mused, trailing a fry through a goop of sauce and popping it into my mouth, "especially after spending the first 19 years of my life thinking what the fuck?"

Danny laughed, "really?"

I nodded, "why do you think I'm here in London?"

Danny shrugged, "I don't know."

"Because London was on the list."

"The list?"

I nodded, "As soon as I turned 20 I sat myself down and wrote a list of all the things I wanted."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "was I on the list?"

"Attractive next door neighbour?" I grinned. "I don't think anything that good crossed my mind."

"Attractive next door _boyfriend_," Danny corrected.

"Even better."

--------------------------------------------------

The next day I had to go back to work, and once again my life was filled with all things PR. Lana and I began working overtime for a new client, so most nights I practically fell into Danny's apartment where I had taken up temporary residence.

Along with my crazy workload, Danny and I had an unspoken agreement to spend as much time with each other as possible. We had never discussed what would happen when it was time for Danny to leave; I think we had an unspoken agreement about that as well. So we just enjoyed each other's company as much as we could.

That week was filled with late nights, and sluggish mornings, which usually resulted in me arriving at work looking like a zombie who had just risen from the grave. All my work mates were worried about me, except Lana who just laughed and told everyone I was having too much sex. She was probably right, but that didn't mean she had to pass that fact around the office.

Meanwhile the Gremlin was keeping an almost scarily close eye on me as. I didn't know what her deal was, but it was starting to creep me out. So I worked extra hard just in case she thought I was slacking off.

Before I knew it, we were out of the first week and into the second. Then out of the second and into the third. It was at that point it hit me that Danny would be leaving at the end of the week… and the idea of that did not impress me at all.

-----------------------------------------------

I hummed as I pushed open the door to Danny's apartment after a long day at work, "hello," I called through the deserted room as I dropped my bag on the floor, and continued my way throughout without missing a beat.

"Out here" Danny called back from the balcony.

I kicked off my heels, and shrugged out of my jacket. Before stepping onto the balcony to find Danny sitting cross-legged on the floor, papers spread all around him, guitar in hand.

I raised an eyebrow, "busy day?"

He looked up and smiled, "let's just say I was suddenly inspired to write." He placed his guitar carefully down beside him and patted his lap. "Get over here. How was your day?"

I carefully tip toed my way through his papers before plopping myself carefully down between his legs. "Busy, but overall rather productive. Remember that new client I was telling you about?"

Danny nodded.

"We presented our campaign ideas to them today."

Danny wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my shoulder, "was everyone blown away?"

I turned my head slightly to the side and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "I don't know about blown away, but they were impressed."

Danny smiled and pressed his lips to mine awkwardly in our position.

"So play me some of this stuff," I suggested pulling away from his lips and picking up a piece of paper off the floor at random.

Danny winced, "it's not very good."

I smiled, "then who better to try it on than me? You know I'd be impressed no matter what you played."

Danny laughed, "Ok, get up for a sec."

I slid off his lap, and changed my position so I was sitting cross-legged facing him. I stared at him expectantly.

Danny picked up his guitar and looked at me, "ready?"

"Always."

Danny strummed his way through the page softly humming to the lyrics that were in his head that he just couldn't get onto paper. I watched quietly. I always loved when Danny played for me. There was something incredibly intimate about the act. Most the time he was performing for hundreds upon thousands of people. But at these moments, he was performing just for me. That, and the fact he looked so incredible sitting there in his denim jeans, and black t-shirt, while his hair was incredibly tousled. He must have been for a shower recently because it looked all messy, like he had just gotten out of bed.

Danny finished the page and shrugged, "well it's a work in progress."

I stared at him.

Danny looked at me, "what?"

I smirked before leaning forward and capturing his lips with my own. Danny hastily shoved his guitar out of harms way before I pushed him down onto the tiles, stretching out on top of him. I kissed him passionately, twining my fingers into that gorgeous hair before running down the side of his face to cup his jaw.

Danny clutched me to him, his hands manoeuvring themselves under my white dress shirt to caress my back before rolling us over so he was hovering over me. His fingers began to nimbly un-do the buttons of my shirt, his lips kissing every inch of skin he uncovered.

He had just reached the last button when something happened that caused us both to groan.

_Knock, knock_

"You can't be serious," I mumbled, my breath incredibly uneven as Danny's lips hovered over mine

"Ignore it," he replied.

_Knock, knock_

"Danny you idiot!"

_Knock, knock_

I chuckled, "you better get that."

Danny muttered darkly under his breath and pushed himself off the ground. I smirked as I watched him leave, sitting up and buttoning my shirt as he went. Once this task was done I stood up and placed Danny's guitar carefully back on its stand before stepping back into the apartment.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Dougie, Tom and Harry there. I smirked at them, "Douglas, Thomas, Harold."

Harry grimaced, "for that you owe me a drink."

"Get dressed," Tom ordered me, "we're going out."

-------------------------------------------

"I… look into the sky," I sang pointing at the sky, "and I have to ask why… she'd go and leeeeaaavvvee meeeee. Oh why, do feelings have to die? Is it all just a sign, of what is meaaannnt to beeeeeeee?"

"Danny," Dougie called over his shoulder, "get your girlfriend away from me!"

I laughed and linked my arm through his, "sorry."

"I think its quite possible you have one of the worst singing voices ever," Harry informed me as he ran up and threw his arms around Dougie and myself from behind.

I smiled proudly, "thank you."

"Hey, where are we going again?" Tom called from a few meters behind us where he was walking with Danny.

"Some new bar," Harry replied, "we got free tickets."

"How many?" Danny questioned.

"Eight."

"Oi Am, lets call Eric and Lana," Danny suggested, "It can be a goodbye party of sorts."

And just like that our unspoken agreement was broken. And the fact that Danny would be leaving hit me heavier than ever. I untangled myself from a laughing Dougie and Harry and doubled back to walk with Danny and Tom.

"Goodbye party huh?" I murmured.

Danny wrapped his arms around me and kissed my temple, "sorry, I broke the agreement."

I shrugged, "I guess it had to come up sooner or later."

"It doesn't have to be tonight," Danny murmured, "We can make it another night."

I shook my head, "no tonight is good. Call them."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

While Danny was straggling behind on the phone to Lana and Eric, Tom took the opportunity to give me a big hug.

"He'll be back you know," Tom assured me.

I let out a deep breath, "yeah I know. Its just bad timing, we only just got together."

"What?" Tom asked in confusion, "You mean, you guys aren't staying together once we go on tour?"

I shrugged, "we've never talked about it."

"Don't you think you should?" Tom questioned.

"Maybe."

--------------------------------------------

'Some new bar' turned out to be owned by a mate of Harry's. A mate who had promised us free drinks all night. And deliver on this promise he did. Every half hour there were new rounds of drinks on our table, so within a few hours Lana and I were sipping water in between our drinks in attempt to keep everything balanced.

We weren't very successful.

It was probably the earliest night I'd had in a long time. It was barely midnight by the time we were all being ushered into taxis by bouncers and ordered to get home.

My memories of that night are foggy at best. I remember dirty dancing on the dance floor with Danny, and I remember having a very long conversation in the ladies toilets with Lana, and I remember drinking a lot of beer… other than that… nothing.

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To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

I barged into Danny's apartment a few days later and for a few moments I could barely recognise the place. It vaguely resembled a hurricane sight. Clothes were strewn everywhere, guitar cases lay open, and a large suitcase was sitting at the foot of Danny's bed, which was buried in clothes, toiletries and other random items.

I blinked, "wow. Did I miss the earthquake?"

Danny poked his head out of the bathroom and smiled at me, "hey. It wasn't an earthquake it was a mini tornado."

"One that spared every room except yours," I added as I dropped my handbag on a pile of magazines, and shed off my work jacket. "Man, I cant believe you are leaving tomorrow," I stated as I cleared a section of clothes from Danny's bed and plopped myself down.

"Neither can I," Danny replied, his voice muffled, "I didn't think the past few weeks would go so fast."

I nodded in agreement and trailed my eyes over his room, "how's the packing going? You don't seem to be making a lot of progress."

"I only just started," Danny replied. He emerged from the bathroom with an arm full of toiletries.

I raised an eyebrow, "what did you do all day?"

Danny shrugged, "I don't know. Procrastinated I guess." He dropped the toiletries into his empty suitcase before leaning over and pecking my lips in greeting, "how was your day?"

I grinned, 'I thought you'd never ask. Guess what?"

"What?"

"I might be getting a promotion."

Danny's eyes widened, "really? Congratulations."

"Might be," I repeated.

Danny rolled his eyes, "you'll get it."

I smiled, "thanks for the faith."

"No problem. When do you find out?"

I shrugged, "a few days. The gremlin just came up to me today and informed me that she's considering the promotion." I sighed happily, "Oh that would be the best. I was wondering why she had been keeping such a close eye on me."

"So what would a promotion mean?" Danny asked curiously as he began sorting through the clothes, strewn across the kitchen counter.

I ticked them off on my fingers, "better pay, I'll have my own office, and I'll have a better selection of clients, the hours are better…" I trailed off dreamily.

Danny laughed, "Sounds amazing."

I nodded, "it will be." I paused and watched him sorting through a massive pile of clothes, "do you need some help."

"Help would be great."

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"Hey Am, come and sit on this suitcase so I can get it closed," Danny said several hours later.

"Hang on," I called from where I stood in front of Danny's fridge examining the contents, "hey do you reckon we should chuck out all the stuff that's going to go off."

"Definitely, but one thing at a time," Danny replied beckoning me over.

I stepped away from the fridge and plopped down onto his bulging suitcase, "are you excited about the tour?"

Danny zipped his suitcase closed, "yeah I am. But…"

"But…" I prompted.

Danny got his suitcase closed and looked at me, "but I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you to," I murmured. "I've gotten used to having you around."

"I've gotten used to being around," Danny replied, he stood up and surveyed his apartment, which was now devoid of any mess, "I've gotten used to this place. When I first bought the place I couldn't wait to leave. But now its home."

"You'll be back," I replied standing up and wrapping my arms around his waist from behind.

"Not soon enough," Danny replied.

I was silent. We had never discussed what would happen after tomorrow. Our motto 'take things one day at a time' had worked rather well until the days ran out. I didn't want him to leave, not when things had just gotten so good. But I guess all good things must come to an end. I had my share of Danny Jones. Now it was time to pass him along to someone else. I wondered if every other girl he had been with felt as empty as I did about that idea.

I squeezed him tight before relaxing my grip and letting go, "so what do you want to do for your last night at Muscrove Apartments?"

Danny grinned at me, "Do you really have to ask?"

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I let out a deep breath when I stepped out of Muscrove Apartments and onto the sidewalk. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of the cool winter breeze on my face before leaning against the wall and shoving my hands into my pockets.

Loud clunking alerted me of Danny's presence and I turned around to see him emerge onto the sidewalk loaded down with a large suitcase, guitar case, and a backpack. It gave me the oddest sense of dejavu, except the last time I was in this position Danny was arriving not leaving.

I watched quietly as he arranged everything out of the way of pedestrians before he walked over to me. When he was a foot away he stopped and mirrored my stance.

"I remember six months ago I was on my way to work when you arrived here," I told him, "I'm having dejavu. Its probably because you are wearing the same beanie."

"Am I?" Danny questioned softly. He pulled his beanie off and fiddled with it in his hands. Silence.

"So this is it huh?" I asked.

Danny lowered his eyes, "I guess."

I stared at him curiously, Danny had been quiet all morning, and it was throwing me because he was never quiet. Ever. I couldn't think of one time over the past six months when Danny didn't have anything to say. But this morning, he had barely muttered anymore than a few words in a row.

"What's wrong Danny?" I demanded abruptly.

"What wrong?" Danny repeated bitterly, "you know what's wrong?"

I was blank, "I do?"

Danny sighed, "I don't want to go on tour, and I don't want to leave because I know as soon as I do, some other guy will come along and you'll forget all about me. I'll be out of the picture for months and then suddenly I'll be back, and I'll have to watch some other guy make you happy and that pisses me off because I want to be that guy."

I stared at him, "Dan…" I began.

Danny shook his head and cupped my face with both hands, "I know we've never talked about it. But if I asked you to wait for me, would you?"

"You know I would," I murmured honestly.

"I don't want whatever we have together to end," Danny admitted, leaning forward and resting his forehead against mine, "not yet."

"I don't either." I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into a close hug, "but you do realise that if you ask me to wait, it means you to make those promises you didn't want to make."

'Its different now," Danny replied, hugging me back and lifting me off the ground briefly, "I was hesitant before because I wasn't sure things would work out. Now I know they will." Danny pulled back and pressed his lips to my forehead.

"When will you be back?" I questioned pulling back slightly so I could see his face.

"Straight after tour," Danny replied squeezing my hands, "I'll have a few days off before we head into the studio. Do you think you can last that long?"

I laughed, "asks the boy who'll have flocks of girls throwing themselves at him each night."

Danny gaped at me in mock horror, "what are you suggesting?"

I shoved him playfully, "nothing, I trust you."

'I trust you too."

Honk Honk

"Shit," Danny stated, seeing the taxi pull up at the curb, "c'mere."

He pulled me into his arms and kissed me passionately, "I'll call you tonight ok?"

I nodded, "look after yourself."

"You too," he gave me a hug and kissed my temple, "good luck with the promotion. Call me as soon as you find out ok?"

"Of course," I grinned.

I helped Danny load his stuff into the trunk of the car, and shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans as he slid into the backseat. He wound down his window, "tell Lana and Eric I say goodbye."

"I will."

Danny smiled, " then I'll see you soon Miss Blair."

I laughed and waved as the taxi pulled away. I watched until is disappeared around the corner. I smiled. Muscrove Apartments would certainly be lonely, without the presence of Mr. Room 302.

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THE END

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Thanks so much to all my readers!


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